An Introduction to Environmental Policy (10 Minutes - Review)
You can begin the lesson with a discussion about environmental policy in the U.S. Environmental policy focuses on problems arising from human impact on the environment.
Enforcement
- EPA - The Environmental Protection Agency is a federal agency charged to protect human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress.
- Local/State - Each state has a Department of Environmental Conservation/Protection in some form that regulates more local policies.
Quick History
- Clean air act - A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of smog and air pollution. The United States federal government has enacted a series of clean air acts, beginning with the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955, and followed by the Clean Air Act of 1963, the Air Quality Act of 1967, the Clean Air Act Extension of 1970, and Clean Air Act Amendments in 1977 and 1990.
Clean water act The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution passed in 1972 and amended in 1987.
- Recycling legislation - Legislation for recycling is on a local level. Four methods of such legislation exist: minimum recycled content mandates, utilization rates, procurement policies, recycled product labeling.
- Car emissions standards - Emissions standards are requirements that set specific limits to the amount of pollutants that can be released into the environment. EPA regulates standards for autos.
- Energy efficiency (Energy Star) - Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products created in 1992.
Focus now on energy policy issues. Although electricity is a clean and relatively safe form of energy to use, there are environmental impacts associated with the production and transmission of electricity. Nearly all types of electric power plants impact or effect the environment, some more than others.
The United States has laws to reduce these impacts. Perhaps the most important such law is the Clean Air Act, which established regulations for the control of air emissions from most power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers the Act and sets emissions standards for power plants through various programs, such as the Acid Rain Program. As a result of the Act some major types of air pollutants have witnessed a substantial reduction of emissions in the United States.
The headquarters for the EPA are located in Washington, DC.
Use this opportunity to connect to Social Studies lessons about civics and the U.S. political system. Reflect on historical and contemporary issues while maintaining a focus on environmental concerns.
Current Policy, Possible Futures (10 Minutes - Investigate)
What are the current energy policies in the U.S.? Energy policy is the manner in which a government addresses issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption. The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques.
Ask students to investigate some questions:
o What is the history of the Unite State’s energy policy?
o How recently was energy policy legislation changed and how do these policies compare to those of other developed nations?
o What steps are we taking to expand our use of renewable energy?
Also talk about how energy policy affects our every day lives. Energy policies influence many things, from the price of consumer goods to our electricity bills and gas prices.
How does energy policy affect designers and the designs they create? Use examples:
- In the 1990s Germany regulated recycling on the producer side, making it a law that companies must take back their waste. Companies responded by producing products with little or no packaging.
- Currently the California Air Resources Board is attempting to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, stemming from previous attempts like an electric car mandate. Car manufacturers are responding with more efficient cars and hybrids.
- Energy star became the standard for consumer electronics resulting in more efficient gadgets and appliances.
- CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) were banned in the 1990’s to prevent ozone layer damage and haven’t resurfaced in products since.
Designers of a diverse range of products have adapted their work to comply with these standards.
Policy Problems (10 minutes - Frame/Reframe)
- Energy efficiency and conservation - programs like the Weatherization Assistance Program, which started in 1977 help home, and building owners weatherize their buildings with insulation and other measures.
- Producer subsidies - Subsidies given to power plant operators to use better technologies and increase efficiency programs
- Consumer subsidies - Tax rebates for renewables and other energy efficiency measures
- Renewable Energy Grants
- Smart Grid and Infrastructure Improvements
What problems exist now with energy policy? Why don’t we have a mandatory renewable energy policy? Is there a problem? How does a policy get enforced? Discuss some of these issues as a class.
Technology Connection
A broad range of technologies are helping policymakers and communities alike to get involved in politics on local and global levels.
- Mobile Activism - Groups like Oxfam and Greenpeace are using mobile technologies to get interested people involved in campaigns and out to polls to vote on vital issues that effect the environment. https://mobileactive.org/ The Open Planning Project - TOPP Labs is incubator for civic tech initiatives creating projects like the Community Almanac which shares stories about places all over the country and the Livable Streets Initiative which advocates for pedestrian and bike friendly neighborhoods. https://streetseducation.org/ and https://communityalmanac.org/
- Opinion Space: The US Department of State has opened up an online international forum for people to voice their concerns about issues including the state of our global environment. https://www.state.gov/opinionspace/
Policy Design Lab (20 minutes - Generate Possible Solutions)
After a discussion about historical and current environmental policy issues, challenge students to design a new energy policy for their community. To start a debate consider an example from the 2010 National Design Triennial’s case study about a proposed city outside of Abu Dhabi called
Masdar, pictured below.
Masdar Development - Masdar is a brand-new, self-contained, sustainable city of forty thousand residents currently being built on the desert outskirts of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. A vast experiment, its design pushes ideas of alternative energy, aiming to be the world’s first car-free, carbon-neutral, zero-waste city powered by renewable energy sources. To achieve this, its master planner, the London-based firm of
Foster + Partners, is applying new approaches to architecture and engineering on an urban scale. The only source of water will be produced through a solar-powered desalination process in which sea water is converted to fresh water. Water usage will be reduced from a national daily average of 143 to about 21 gallons per person by recycling waste-water and by using low-flow fixtures, waterless urinals, and a leak-detection system. The sun will be the primary source of energy, captured in thin-film solar panels in the largest solar plant in the Middle East; and supplemented by wind turbines and waste-to-power plants, which use garbage retrieved from a garbage-collection network as fuel.
How does this proposed sustainable city address many of the important energy and environmental policy issues facing the US and other nations?
Divide students into policy design teams. Each policy created must include measures addressing:
- Energy conservation and efficiency measures
- Renewable energy quotas
- Implementation strategy
- Time scales
To focus teams - give them each a specific area or energy policy to ponder. Examples include:
- Energy efficiency
- Renewable energy
- Infrastructure (ie. Power lines, power plants etc.)
- Building performance (weatherizing buildings)
Encourage each team to come up with a proposed title, a description and diagrams of how the policy would work.
Help students brainstorm. Create Ven diagrams and maps of the region in which you live to begin. Remember to focus students on local state and regional issues. (Edit and develop)
School EPA Presentation (15 minutes)
After policies have been designed, have each design team will present in front of a “School or Class EPA”. The Class EPA will determine whether or not the policy makes sense, if its sound and could be used in the community. Each student will have one vote for each policy design. One will be chosen. The newly adopted policy should be signed by members of the Class EPA. (Share and Evaluate)
If you have time for further discussion, talk about potential implementation. How does one present a policy to a local legislator? Find out who is in your congressional district. Mail them a copy of your class policy. (Finalize the Solution)
Post the newly adopted policy somewhere in the school! This will encourage other students and teachers to be energy conscious, extending the impact of the lesson beyond the dry-erase board. (Articulate)